Casandra “Cassie” Ventura revealed Friday that she is expecting a $10 million settlement from InterContinental in relation to the 2016 hotel incident at the heart of the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial.
Surveillance footage from the Century City hotel that was first published by CNN in May 2024 and is now being shown in court depicts Combs violently assaulting Ventura in a hallway and dragging her across the floor by her hair. The footage has been used by federal prosecutors as evidence of Combs’ physical abuse.
During the final day of Ventura’s cross-examination, Combs’ lawyers asked if she had any pending lawsuits. (Ventura filed a civil lawsuit against Combs in 2023, revealing yesterday that she received a $20 million settlement.) Ventura said no, later clarifying that she is expected to receive a settlement from InterContinental after filing a demand against the hotel. She said she has reached the end of settlement discussions and has not yet received the settlement, which she estimated at $10 million.
Ventura said the settlement discussions concluded sometime this month, but emphasized that she has no financial stake in the results of Combs’ criminal trial. Asked on Thursday why she chose to testify against her longtime ex-boyfriend, Ventura said, “I’m here to do the right thing. I can’t carry this anymore … the shame, the guilt.”
The news of Ventura’s settlement with InterContinental came as a shock to the courtroom, with many people in the overflow room audibly gasping and wondering why the prosecution did not introduce the settlement in their initial questioning.
The 2016 hotel assault has been referred to by Combs’ lawyers as “indefensible” and “dehumanizing.” They do not, however, believe it is evidence that Combs engaged in sex trafficking and racketeering, which is what he is charged with.
Recounting the events of that day, Ventura said she was in a hotel room with Combs and a male escort participating in a “freak-off,” one of Combs’ drug-fueled sex parties that could last days on end. Attempting to leave the “freak-off” before Combs decided it was over, Ventura grabbed her bags and headed to the elevator. Combs then followed her out of the room wearing only a towel and began beating her. He then returned to his room and Ventura exited the property.
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On Monday, the court heard testimony from Israel Florez, a security guard at the InterContinental in Century City who witnessed Combs’ assault on Ventura. Florez said that when he arrived at the scene of the attack, he escorted Combs back to the room and asked Ventura if she wanted him to call the police. Florez testified that Ventura said no and “I just want to leave” without pressing charges or notifying the authorities. He filed an incident report that seemingly omitted important details of the assault, as revealed in the defense’s cross-examination. Later, Florez took a video of the surveillance footage with his cell phone, showing it to other staff members, who also did not call the police.
By grilling Ventura about these legal settlements, Combs’ lawyers are attempting to convince the jury that she had a financial incentive to levy accusations against Combs. Defense attorney Anna Estevao tried to relate the cancellation of Ventura’s 2024 international tour with her 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs, saying she no longer needed to perform shows for income because she had just received $20 million. Ventura rejected that assertion, saying she canceled the tour because the legal process was “overwhelming” and she wanted to be with her children at the time.
Asked directly by the prosecution if she would give back the $20 million if it meant she would have never had to participate in a “freak-off,” Ventura broke down in tears.
“If I never had to have ‘freak-offs,’ I would have agency and autonomy,” she said, sniffling. “I wouldn’t have had to work so hard to get it back.”
From Variety US